Young-Sung Kim made his Art a warning for all those who believe in the beauty of life, of nature and animals. He made it using a particural style, appreciated all over the world. His is in fact a hyperrealistic style that, with the eyes of those who always beyond everything, also goes beyond the brushes. It reaches the point of unreality, and overcomes the barriers of our mind. It does so spontaneously, and without any form of oppression. This is what his Art talks about: looking his works, it seems to be leafing through a color book. Are you curious what will be inside?
In an economically driven world where we are conditioned to subconsciously place value on the genuinely invaluable, Young-sung Kim has visually critiqued the level at which we place “value” on objects both commercially and ethically.
Kim uses contrasting subject matter to illustrate the distinction between the living and the material, it seems that as a society our ideas of how something is valued are intrinsically rooted in commerce.
This series expresses the modern society where lives are threatened and many things have disappeared due to the advanced development of material civilizations. The coexistence of objects representing Life and Object are shown as a piece of advertisement or a theatrical piece to analyze and depict the phenomenon cold-heartedly to express the desolation of modern society and nihilism of modern people and to reveal humans’ negligence of life.
Young-Sung Kim
Was there a particular moment in which you realized that Art would be your way?
I remember that when I was nine years old, I was drawing a specimen of cicadas and I was amazed at both feeling of great emotion and disappointment about not best. “I will become an Artist”
In your works, you often represent the contrast between the object of modern and a symbol of nature. What is your connection with nature and with human creations? Do we need both equally, and do we need one more than the other?
I explore that people will think value small creatures more than objects. For me, this change is the main meaning of the work.
Do you think we could be able to make our modern life coexist with the life of other living beings?
Let’s take care of small animals. If they can not live, humans can not live either.
You often represent the love of nature with warm colors and accents, and the coldness of modern life with cold and sometimes transparent objects. What did this style bring about in you?
The coolness, warmth, and sharp contrast of colors are very important elements in my works. I have been working hard for a very long time to express these as I imagined and planned. Therefore, the current “Nothing. Life. Object” series, and I came into existence. So now I have many exhibitions in great Galleries and Museums in the world.
What is behind your hyper-realistic perfection? Why did you decide to follow this fascinating path?
I have chosen my genre as hyperrealism because of the people in nowaday society think animals and nature as methods of ornament, experiment and edibility and these reasons have objectively placed as a valid abusion for remaining humanbeings strongly. However, by drawing and creating realistically, more than a photo, more than a brand new TV or Monitor More than Real, I give a shock to the people in nowaday society, therefore this attitude of my genre can be able to make the people think twice about abusing of their unintentional behaviours towards animals and nature. Through these my art works, I warns our society of environmental problems and the crisis of climate change.
In your works, there is often an open glass cup full of water (sometimes water comes out of a plant). What does the unconscious tell you when your brush takes this direction?
What I am pursuing is an advanced extreme hyperrealism that precedes any reality, more real than photographs and high-definition monitors, Finally, more real than real.
What are your future artistic projects?
I will continue hyperrealistic paintings with other small animals such as mice and cockroaches. I’m also planning to work sculpture, installation, and kinetic art. etc.
Interview made by Fabio Meneghella
Riferimenti dell’artista